Second long-time Hardyston squad member arrested in theft

HARDYSTON — A second long-time member of the Hardyston Volunteer First Aid Squad has been arrested for allegedly using the organization’s credit card to make personal purchases.

Eva Boswell, 59, the squad’s president from 2009 to 2010, was charged with theft and official misconduct on Wednesday, Hardyston police said in a statement. Police said Boswell made personal purchases totaling more than $13,000.

According to the minutes of the Township Council, Boswell was given an award in 2010 in recognition of her 15 years of service on the First Aid Squad.

Boswell, who now lives in Cherryfield, Maine, turned herself in at police headquarters Wednesday and was released on her own recognizance after an appearance in state Superior Court in Newton, police said.

Additional information was not immediately available Wednesday night.

Her arrest came nearly three months after police charged then-Hardyston Councilman Wayne Ross, the First Aid Squad’s treasurer for 15 years, with theft and official misconduct. Ross allegedly used $27,585 of the squad’s money for his personal use.

Ross, a Township Council member since 1992, subsequently removed his name from the Nov. 5 election ballot and resigned from the council.

His case remains pending.

Ross was arrested more than a year after 10 members of the Hardyston Township First Aid Squad were suspended or expelled after raising concerns about the squad’s finances to township officials.

According to his Aug. 30 arrest affidavit, Ross told police that Boswell used the squad’s credit card for personal purchases, including prescriptions, totaling $14,156.

Ross allegedly used the card to purchase pen-making supplies for his personal business, fuel and repairs for his vehicle, dining expenses, ESPN subscriptions as well as “large quantities of cigarettes from southern states” and miscellaneous items, according to the affidavit.

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